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Don't miss out on all the fantastic VR/AR/MR talks at XRDC next week!

By Staff | October 24, 2018

XRDC kicks off next Monday in San Francisco, so now is the perfect time for attendees to finalize their schedules in order to ensure the best possible experience at this premier AR/VR/MR innovation event.

Today organizers would like to quickly highlight a sample of the show's many exciting talks, and encourage you to take advantage of the free XRDC 2018 Session Scheduler to plan out what you'd like to attend and ensure you don't miss anything the show has to offer.

Make time in your schedule to attend this talk, because senior game designer Andrew Abedian aims to reveal the grassroots evolution of Survios' early speed-running prototype into a pioneer multiplayer title in VR eSports. You can expect to learn all about the specific steps Survios undertook to transform their original Sprint Vector concept into a successful VR eSports title, from creating competitive gameplay mechanics to overcoming technological hurdles to encouraging community-driven events.

In this special session, XRDC has selected the co-creators of two standout AR/VR/XR titles to present case studies of their intriguing and innovative work. First, Tinker VR's Shimon Alkon will discuss bringing to life an experience of what it might be like to gradually lose a loved one to Alzheimer's. The experience integrates animation with live performance in VR in way that allows the participant to interact, influence, and affect the narrative that unfolds.

Then, Kimberly Hieftje from Yale's play4REAL lab will discuss 'smokeSCREEN VR', a VR intervention (pictured) focused on e-cigarette prevention in teens. Created with input from teens, the game uses voice recognition software to allow the player to practice refusal skills in real-time.

Any XRDC attendees interested in innovative use of AR, VR, or XR should consider attending this session, as it promises to be illuminating. The speakers will present their case studies with extensive use of visuals and explain the thought processes behind their particular titles; you won't want to miss it!

If you have any interest in the automotive industry or in how to best apply AR/VR design skills outside the game industry, check out XRDC's many Automative talks, among them "Mastering XR for Automative" from the automotive visualization experts at ZeroLight.

This will be an interesting talk, as ZeroLight technical director Chris O'Connor will be walking attendees through the various ways ZeroLight automotive clients (including prestige brands like BMW, Porsche, Audi and more) have incorporated mixed-reality tech in their work. Attendees are going to gain a unique understanding of the challenges faced when developing on cutting-edge hardware -- and how new graphics tech can be used to enhance XR experiences for all sorts of industries.

There's also lots of opportunities to hone in on very specific challenges and disciplines, with the promise of doing so alongside some of the leading luminaries in AR/VR/MR. For example, Placenote chief Neil Mathew will be presenting a "UX Design Guidelines for Building AR Cloud Apps" talk at XRDC next week.

It's part of the XRDC Innovation track of talks because Mathew aims to walk you through the latest developments in AR cloud technology, the remaining technical hurdles that need to be solved, and UX design guidelines to build compelling AR experiences despite the technical limitations. He'll also explore the current technical limitations of AR cloud technology and discuss the trade-offs needed to balance good UX with AR cloud features.

Recent breakthroughs in 3D mapping and AI are now making it possible to build AR apps that truly interact with the real world (think: indoor navigation and location-based games), so this talk might be especially useful to developers, UX designers, startup founders or product managers interested in learning about the latest developments in AR cloud technology and looking for inspiration on building a compelling persistent or multiplayer AR app. Don't overlook it!

For more information about XRDC, which is produced by organizers of the Game Developers Conference, check out the official XRDC website. You can also subscribe to regular XRDC updates via email, Twitter and Facebook.